Senior Member

I think I would definitely consolidate your footer! I don't really think you need all of the copy right info and every navigation link - you could also decorate the Twitter feeds a little more subtly.

I like the fact you have big previews of work! In the portfolio overview - I would potentially make it that when you have 3 small images in a row, into one 'image' (looks the same but rolls over as one block). But that is only personal preference.

I would like a contact page rather than an automatic email opener! That way you make it easy for people to find your details and then offer them the choice of how they want to contact you.

I'm not sure yet about the effectiveness of adding social 'likes' to specific pages... not sure if they work. Visually, not always attractive but I guess the possibility is there for more exposure.

Member

I'm clearly not a web developer, but I've tried to use good design skills to come up with a functional site that I can build and manage myself. It's been cobbled together with Rapidweaver, and a bit of hand coding in HTML and CSS to get it all styled.

I'll take your points about the massive footer and mono scheme for future updates.

Senior Member

Yes, as Lee is saying, I am not talking about the size of the logo, but about the size of the slogan. This one: "VICKERS is a Glasgow-based graphic design service. Affordable. Friendly. Creative. Innovative graphic design solutions for small businesses in Glasgow, Scotland and the rest of the UK, as well as offering a freelance design service to Glasgow's studios and agencies."

It seems to speak louder than the most interesting elements, i.e. the logo and the display underneath. I would try different sizes, including the smallest you have in the page (Arial 10 or nearly). "Affordable. Friendly. Creative." could come out in different colours, why not. Perhaps it should be just one paragraph instead of three.

S

Squiddy

Guest

Actually I do like monochrome websites myself - when I finally get round to finishing mine it will also be in black and white.

Ok, here we go. I'll go ahead and apologise in advance if any of what I say sounds harsh, I just like to speak my mind on these matters and hope that others do the same for me. Firstly, I'm not too keen on your logo. The focus is drawn to the E of VICKERS but it's kind of confusing to look at, is it supposed to be an icon? I could just be being stupid and not seeing it. The tag line works, although I feel it contradicts reading standards and should be placed underneath Vickers. I imagine saying it out loud and "Vickers, unlocking creative solutions" sounds much better than "Unlocking creative solutions, Vickers".

I feel that the site navigation area looks a little awkward as it's pretty small and it's been hidden away in a corner, surrounded by vast amounts of white space. One thing that I've noticed is that there's a very fine line between minimal design and bland. I just think that the design itself lacks artistic flair. For instance the horizontal lines you've used could be replaced with something a little elegant, like a flourish of some sorts or a patterned line.

I like the layout of the text and it's very concise and articulate. However. Just something I picked up on and you may not see it as important but your logo says Vickers - Unlocking creative solutions yet in your text you refer to yourself as both Vickers Creative and Vickers - is it Vickers or Vickers Creative? Or perhaps Vickers Indecisive?

I think that the transition between white and black for the footer is too harsh - I think there needs to be a more gentle approach to it, perhaps by adding dark grey detail along the transition point, or simply a 20px or so line.

Personally I'm not keen on large amounts of text in the footer, nor long, single column lists of links. I just think that if it's important enough to talk about then it deserves some space in the main layout. The twitter widget looks horrible - I understand that it's make a bad situation out of a terrible one when it comes to the design of the twitter widget. I've had to try and implement one before and it's a very difficult task... I would recommend stripping it of all it's design properties, taking it out of its curved boxes and try to work it into the site. It also messes up the grid alignment of the footer, making it look awkward.

I would also echo the opinion to move the images to the left and have the text on the right. Remember that people read from left to right and you want to captivate them with an awesome image before you present them with a block of text. Having it the other way around will disrupt the reading flow and make for a less functional design.

You definitely need a separate contact page or to implement it into your home page some how. I would imagine there are a lot of people who don't use a standalone email client and stick to web based ones such as hotmail/gmail etc - perhaps not the kind of people in your target audience but you never know.

I don't think the 'social likes' section works all that well, it looks too much like a rogue element. Also, you'll want to make your navigation consistent throughout the entire site, About changes to home when you click it, inconsistency is never good on a website.

OVERALL I think it's a good site, it just needs some more artistic flair and to revise some areas. I don't think you'll struggle with this, from what I can see of your previous work you clearly have no difficulty in designing awesome work